It has become customary for Paul G4MD and myself to spend a few days away at the end of February between our birthdays as a sort of present to ourselves. As I have activated virtually all of the summit south of the Glasgow – Edinburgh line, we decided to look further north and accommodation at Stirling was duly booked. For a number of reasons, the dates were moved on this year to early March and this proved to be extremely fortuitous as the weather in February was generally dire and our outing thankfully coincided with a reasonable weather window. .
Tuesday 3rd March 2020 – Stronend GM/SS-163, 511m asl., NS629895
Our choice of summit on the first day would be largely dependent upon the weather. We worked up a number of options and left our decision until the day before. All options were based on an early start and I set out for Paul’s house at 02:50z, arriving there at 04:21z. It was freezing at the start of the journey, but the temperature rose to a heady 2C as I travelled west. After a cup of coffee, I transferred my kit to Paul’s car and we set off northwards at 04:46z. As usual, we took a break at Tebay services around 07:30z where it was still 2C and we reached the parking spot on a minor road to the north of the summit (NS653923) at 10:24z, just one minute earlier than estimated. The temperature was now 8C and sun had broken through the cloud cover.
Almost there… and there is snow on them thar hills!
The view to the north on our ascent.
Access to the summit from the north was via the Spout of Ballochleam on a good farm track, before we headed west over open ground towards the summit. Our estimate for this route was 6.5km with 410m of ascent. We set off down the road at 10:48z for the first 750m to reach the end of the track, which we found to be a reasonably easy walk. Just beyond the actual spout, we located a quad bike track heading west which took us across to the Boquhan Burn. Due to the recent wet weather the burn was in spate and despite an extensive search, we were unable to find a safe place to cross to the north side. We therefore decided to continue on the south side which required a lengthy and rather slow heather yomp to take us around the multiplicity of tributaries to the main burn. Eventually we were able to join the quad bike track about a kilometre from the summit, which we eventually reached at 14:10z. This was half an hour later than planned, the ascent distance having increased to 7.8km with the detour. As we approached the summit shelter and trig, a brief and rather cold rain shower blew in. Thankfully this was not to last and our activation was a dry one with the sun helping a little with the cold wind.
The Spout of Ballochleam.
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The summit shelter and trig on Stronend.
After a brief discussion, we decided that I would use the open topped trig to support my pole while Paul would set up in the lee of the shelter where he could set out his HF antenna and hopefully get some respite from the cold wind. I was up and running on 2m SSB by 14:25z and despite being late, Don G0RQL soon found me. There was a large amount of QSB on the signals and the situation was not helped by a pole collapse which unfortunately punched out the bottom cap on the pole. Steve MM0XPZ followed Don, but there were no other takers on SSB. After several minutes without any response, I moved to FM which was made easy as I was running with the 5 element yagi 45 degrees slant polarised. Paul GM0VXA was first to be worked on the mode at 14:48z and a steady trickle of contacts followed, several with SOTA chasers. In all a decent total of 9 contacts was made on FM, with Jack GM4COX completing the activation by 15:44z.
Paul found setting up for HF somewhat more onerous than for me as the wind was extremely chilling and in pinning out the antenna he got quite cold. It was 14:39z before he made his first contact on 60m SSB, this being with Bill G4WSB. Don G0RQL followed on and spotted Paul. In all 7 contacts with G and 1 with GW were made on the band, all with known SOTA chasers. There was a lot of QSB on the band and this proved to be the same on 80m where Paul moved to at 15:00z. Karl 2E0FEH was first to make contact, followed by Bill WSB, Peter GM3XOQ, Andy GM6ZAK, John 2I0FMN and finally Don RQL. This took the time to 15:25z and with the lack of further callers, Paul decided to get his kit packed up. I was still working the run on 2m FM at this time, so Paul hunkered down until I had finished and left his over-fleece on until I was ready for the descent.
We set off from the summit at 16:05z retracing the final part of our ascent route and continuing on the track beyond the point where we had joined it which proved to be a good choice. However, we realised that we would have the burn to cross lower down, but wet feet on the way back from a summit was a less daunting prospect than it had been on the way up. When we reached the burn it was evident that it was not possible to cross safely anywhere near the track crossing. We therefore spent some time searching before we managed to locate a potential crossing point some distance below, near a dam across the burn. Thankfully, aided by our walking poles the crossing was made without incident and shortly thereafter we rejoined the main track and continued on our way to the car, arriving there at 18:15z just as it was getting dark. The temperature was dropping like a stone and the forecast was for freezing conditions overnight.
After stowing our kit and changing our footwear, we set off to the Stirling M80 Travelodge where we were staying, arriving at 19:00z. The priority was to have a shower and phone home, after which we met up an hour later to get some food which was enjoyed in Paul’s room along with a beer courtesy of Paul. The choice of summit for the following day was discussed over the meal and being rather tired we decided to go for a summit with a fairly short walk in. Little did we know what lay in store.
Wednesday 4th March 2020 – Meall Gainmheich GM/SS-134, 566m asl., NN509095
The temperature did indeed drop below zero overnight and I found Paul scraping the car windows when I took my kit out at 07:25z. Thankfully the roads had been treated, but the journey to the parking spot at the Ben A’An car park was rather slow courtesy of a farmer towing a trailer with his tractor for many miles before he finally pulled in to a lay-by. This meant that we arrived at 08:28z later than planned
View from the footbridge on the way up to Ben A’An.
Ben A’An - a shapely hill.
The route to the summit of Meall Gainmheich passes the shapely hill of Ben A’An which is served by a well made track which is steep in places. We set off from the car at 08:50z. Our itinerary allowed time to visit the summit of Ben A’An to experience the excellent views, though I had seen them many times on one of the Facebook groups of which I am a member. This must be one of the most photographed summits in Scotland. However, there is nothing like seeing it for yourself and the time spent scaling the icy path to the summit was well spent. Thankfully there were only a couple of people on the summit when we were there, and the views of the snow-capped mountains in the glass-still lochs surrounding Ben A’an were stunning.
The view from Ben A’An
At 10:25z, after spending about ten minutes on the summit, we set off across the rough heathery ground towards our target, soon to find the going considerably more arduous than we had expected. The terrain undulated and had steeper gradients than the contours on the map suggested. The situation was compounded by lying snow up to 60cm deep which had an icy crust that we needed to punch through with every step. It was very slow going and rather tiring and it got worse as we gained height. We navigated the best route we could to get to the gate in the deer fence at NN507091 and thereafter we decided to attack the hill head on rather than waste any further time looking for a more gentle gradient.
Meall Gainmheich (photo taken on the descent).
Paul pauses to assess the best route up.
It was 12:42z, an hour later than planned, when we reached the summit. We were pleased to find that the fence running across it ran at a right angle to the rather cold wind. The first task was to deploy our tarps to get some shelter and then have something to eat and drink. I managed to set up quickly for 2m and was calling by 13:00z. Steve MM0XPZ was soon on frequency, to be followed a few minutes later by Don G0RQL. I did not spend that long calling on SSB as there were no further callers. Moving to FM, Ken GM0AXY and Christine GM4YMM were the first to call me and I worked a total of 5 on the mode. At 13:45z I lowered the 2m beam and put up the HF dipole. The RBN spotted me on 30m CW and Jose EA7GV was first to be worked on the band. I also worked stations in OH, SM, SP, DL, CT and was called by Bruno HB9CBR/P on Punkt 1240 bei Walenmattweid HB/SO-022 for a most welcome S2S. Moving to 20m CW, I worked SP, OK and a couple of Stateside contacts with Rich N4EX and John K2VV. It was then that I discovered the 817 was still on 2.5 watts, the level used to drive the 2m linear.
View across to Ben Venue GM/SS-058.
Paul started a little later than I did, with Allan GW4VPX calling in on 60m SSB at 13:13z and then placing a spot for Paul. The band was in reasonable order and a steady run of 14 contacts was made over the next 25 minutes. A number of new calls featured in the log with G, GW, GM and GI represented. At 13:40z he moved to 80m where Ken GM0AXY was extremely pleased to be able to copy him as there had been little sign of any signals on 60m. Karl 2E0FEH followed Ken and placed a spot for Paul, but further CQ calls unfortunately solicited no response. Looking over to my position Paul saw that my mast was lowered and he assumed that I was packing away, so he decided to do the same. Imagine his surprise when he looked over again and saw the pole back up! I was now operating on HF and he came over to see how I was doing. With the cold wind creating significant wind chill, I agreed to let Paul know when I was finished and packed up as he could keep reasonably warm behind his tarp until then.
The view out to the west from the summit with more snow-covered hills.
It was 14:45z when we set off back to the car, retracing our steps for most of the way back to the Ben A’An path. As we approached the path we took a slightly more optimal line to join it slightly lower down. Thankfully a slight thaw had set in and the going was somewhat easier. There were still quite a few people climbing Ben A’An and we stopped several times on our descent to chat. Some were ascending the summit in the hope of there being a good sunset to photograph. It was 17:18z when we arrived at the car park and just over an hour later we were back at the Travelodge. Having expended quite a lot of energy on this outing, we decided on a more food and less beer approach to our sustinence and an earlier night as well.
Thursday 5th March 2020 – Meall Nan Chaorach GM/SS-104, 623m asl., NN929339 and Meall Reamhar GM/SS-105, 620m asl, NN922332
This pair required an earlier start and we set off from Stirling at 06:45z. Paul was not feeling very well and was considerably worse by the time we reached the parking spot at Amulree village hall. We quickly decided that under the circumstances it would be silly to attempt the summits, so I posted the cancellation on SOTAWatch and we removed the alerts. It took considerable effort for Paul to drive back to Stirling and he needed to take a short break at one point. It was 09:30z when we arrived back at the Travelodge.
Our intended target - the two snow-covered summits in the distance.
Paul went straight to his room to get some sleep and I decided to do some odds and ends on my tablet until my inner self indicated that an early lunch was required. After a couple of phone calls and catching up with the news and weather, I decided that as it was a decent day outside a walk was required. I therefore set off on a circular route around the southern part of Stirling. As I was on the final part of the walk, I received a text from Paul letting me know he was back in the land of the living and we met up shortly after I got back. He was feeling much better, but we decided that it was best to limit our activity the following day as we would also be returning home.
Friday 6th March 2020 – Dumyat GM/SS-216, 418m asl., NS835977
It was minus 2C when we set off at 07:00z and we arrived at the parking spot to the west of the summit (NS812980) having refuelled en route. The 2.8km walk was along a well walked track which has been upgraded on certain sections, but still requires more work, with some sections quite boggy and eroded and at the top it was a little icy underfoot. As we set off at 07:42z, a couple of walkers returned to the only other car in the car parking area. There was to be no sun this morning and mist lay in the valleys around Stirling, so we did not get the best of views from either the path or indeed the summit.
Dumyat from part of the path that has now been improved.
Despite Paul not feeling particularly well, we made good progress and reached the summit at 08:38z. I set up north of the trig / beacon / memorial, while Paul moved south to a flatter area slightly lower down. It was still freezing as I set up for 2m, though there was virtually no wind and it was quite pleasant despite there being no sun. I was up and running by 09:00z, but being half an hour early, I had to self-spot. A short while later I heard Don G0RQL give me a call, but signals were very weak and there was a lot of QSB. We managed to exchange reports, but that was all. There were no other callers on SSB, so I moved to FM at 09:20z, with Robert GM4GUF quickly picking up on my self-spot. Just 5 were worked on the mode, after which I returned to SSB and put calls out in several directions, all without any response. At 10:00z I went QRT and dismantled the kit, leaving the C710 handheld out of my pack as I could see Paul was still QRV and there would probably be an opportunity of picking up another contact or two. I joined him just as he was finishing his activation, so I put a couple of calls out on 2m FM while he packed away. This resulted in a contact with Dan GM6CMQ. On hearing that I was running a multiband rig, Dan suggested that we try 23cm and we moved there to finish off my activation. My 280mW produced a 57 report using horizontal polarisation. This contact certainly made my day.
My main operating position on the hill.
Paul was up and running on 60m SSB by around 09:07z, but found his usual frequency of 5.3985MHz noisy so he moved up 5kHz. A move back to the original frequency netted a contact with Rod M0JLA, followed by another with Don G0RQL, but there were no further callers for a while until Howard G3YZY called in at 09:36z. A further 3 contacts were made before Paul decided to move to 80m at 09:50z. 80m was in better condition with a reasonably steady rate being achieved to produce a total of 12 contacts on the band, including Ken GM0AXY and Joe GI4TAJ, the rest being all G. The run ended around 10:22z, just as I arrived carrying my handheld which fitted in extremely well time-wise.
Mist lying in the valley with Carletheran GM/SS-175 prominent in the distance.
From around 10:00z there was a steady stream of people arriving at the summit. In all we must have seen around 50 people walking, running and biking. We set off back to the car at 10:44z and stopped several times to respond to questions about our poles. One lady had even met SOTA activators on other hills. It all made for a pleasant outing, with the descent taking 44 minutes. It was 11:40z when we set off on our journey home, but roadworks and a couple of “incidents” on the motorway delayed our arrival at Paul’s house until 18:14z. I left half an hour later after a drink and a chat and was home by 20:14z where a most welcome meal awaited me.
Summary
Despite the fact that Paul was unwell on this outing, we did achieve some memorable activations even if the hard slog to get to the first two summits somewhat overrode what was achieved on the radio. We still have a plethora of itineraries to work through, so a further stay at Stirling is very likely to be on the cards.
As usual our thanks go to everyone that came on to work us and especially those that placed spots for us. Time was at a premium on each of the summits, so we had to limit our activations to what suited the situation the best. I would have liked to have been able to do more HF CW, but setting up two antennas is always time consuming and I had to make a choice of what I had time for.
We will now be working on a series of activations closer to home using our secondary callsigns, including a session in the next Trans-Atlantic S2S QSO Party in April. This is with the aim of a visit to Scotland in early June when one of the summits to be activated will hopefully be Ben Nevis.
73, Gerald